Posted by tim cratchit on September 03, 2001 at 02:55:15:
In Reply to: Shooting an Elephant posted by Shannon on September 03, 2001 at 00:35:47:
I think that the main point of the story is: the colonial rule is bad for sahibs too.
I do not think that the paragraph you mentioned makes the point (about opresive, dehumanizing effect of colonialism on the whitemen) fully.
It merely states that Blair could - on political level - side with 'natives', but those particular coloured bastards he had to police were driving him up the wall.
To make the point complete, you need to say something like this: if you are a sahib, it is expected that you will act like one. And that could be uncomfortable (but maybe less than loosing face).